Equipping a jobsite with the latest in safety gear doesn't cost… it pays!
<i>That's the message that should be coming through loud and clear every time a customer comes into your store — whether it's delivered in person, via displays or signage.</i>
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Equipping a jobsite with the latest in safety gear doesn't cost… it pays! #1
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The National Safety Council reports that the average cost for a disabling injury in 1998 was $$28,000 — including lost wages, medical expenses and all the rest. That figure is, no doubt, significantly higher now. And, construction workers are near the top of the list when it comes to evaluating the risks of a jobsite.
Provide an audit
It's almost tax time, so the word audit can make people jumpy, but in this case it's a good thing. Every jobsite has a unique set of challenges and hazards and there's no cookie-cutter formula for protecting everyone. A site-specific evaluation and a suggested list of personal protective equipment (PPE) can be valuable. Just by listing the possible hazards related to a specific job, you can get a customer thinking safety products. Here are some questions you can ask or suggest a customer get answers to:
What are the most common causes of injuries on a typical jobsite your company works?What are the most common long-term health conditions your people complain about regularly?List all the specific tasks performed by workers on your jobsites and how many workers are involved in each one — this alone could be an eye-opener.What hazards are unique to your current jobsite? What are you doing to guard against them?Are there state or local regulations that require additional PPE for a new job?What do inspectors look for?
You can probably come up with a few more specific questions based on how well you know your customer's business.
There should be one more on the list: Are you sure you're completely prepared to keep your people safe?
There's a tool kit
This kind of safety practices audit isn't new, but it's effective and important. So much so that the International Safety Equipment Association has developed a tool kit to help you and your customers drive the point home. The "Making the Case for Safety Equipment" toolkit is a resource of information and ideas to help convince managers and workers that PPE saves lives and saves money.
The kit includes:Employer's Roadmap to PPE — an explanation of the role of PPE and an outline of steps an organization can take to make PPE a regular part of everyone's daily routine. It also provides an extensive resource of contacts at associations, unions, government agencies, insurance companies and trade publications.PPE at work — outlines how to do a much more complete, formal jobsite safety audit. It includes a 10-page guide to help match PPE to various hazards.Cost benefits of PPE — provides data and case studies to demonstrate that attention to safety doesn't cost; it pays.PPE testimonials — examples of how safety practices and equipment have meant the difference in people's lives.
The ISEA will maintain a registry of those who obtain these tool kits and will periodically update the information and add more "tools" as they become available — next on the agenda is a Safety Officer's Pocket Guide to PPE, followed by a worker's pocket guide.
The colorful kit comes in a binder and features a CD — pages can be printed and copied to use as handouts and leave-behinds.
ISEA members and distributors can buy a kit for about $$60 — two for about $$110.
If you'd like to know more, call or e-mail Joe Walker at ISEA: 703-525-1695 or jwalker@safetyequipment.org.
author: By A. D. "Butch" Horn
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